fbpx

KTM Roofing

North Atlanta Office: (404) 459-5954 | Corporate Headquarters: (678) 565 7663
  • About
    • Financing
    • Coupons
    • Gallery
    • Tips
  • Residential Roofing
    • Roof Repair
    • Roof Replacement
    • Asphalt/Shingle Roofing
    • Slate Roofing
    • Tile Roofing
    • Wood Roofing
    • Gutters/Gutter Guards
    • Solar/Tesla Roofing
  • Commercial Roofing
    • Places of Worship Roofing
    • Municipal
    • Decatur City Hall
    • East Lake Golf Club
  • Areas We Serve
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Roofing
  • Money Saving Insulation and Venting Steps for your Attic

Money Saving Insulation and Venting Steps for your Attic

by Chris Russell / Thursday, 16 April 2015 / Published in Roofing

The Atlanta area experiences a wide range of temperatures from season to season, with winter readings dropping below freezing and summer days that average around 90 degrees but can reach into the 100s. These extremes in temperature require the regular usage of the most energy intensive appliances in the typical home; the heating and cooling systems. In Atlanta, the costs of running these climate controls can exceed $2,000 per year in an un-insulated home, but these expenses can be reduced by 30 percent or more by installing the recommended amount of insulation and venting in the attic. Here are the measures that can save over $600 per year.

1) Insulation – Determine the optimal amount of insulation for your home – The Department of Energy sets the recommended amount of insulation for homes based on their geographic location, which is expressed as an R-Value. In Atlanta, as with most areas in the U.S., the minimum recommended R-Value for the attic is 30, with the highest level of energy efficiency being delivered by insulation with an R-Value of 60. These will be the baseline numbers for homes with no insulation. Many homes do have some insulation, but if the home was built prior to 1980 and no insulation has been added since, the typical R-Value will be under 15. According to the DoE, bringing the insulation up to recommended standards and sealing leaks in the living areas of a home can reduce heating and cooling bills by an average of 20 percent.

2) Ventilation – Ventilating and insulating the attic at the same time may seem counterintuitive, but each measure serves a different purpose. Insulation is meant to inhibit the transfer of heat into and out of the house. Ventilating the space regulates the temperatures inside the attic, which can still reach 150 degrees in an insulated home during hot summer days. Regulating the temperature in an attic provides two benefits; it reduces heat that might otherwise radiate into the living areas of the home and lowers the level of heat that radiates up to the roof deck and the roofing materials. The rule of thumb for adequate ventilation is that for every 300 square inches of floor space, there should 1 square inch of open ventilation. For example, an attic that measures 500 square feet would be multiplied by 12 to get 6,000 square inches. To calculate the amount of square inches for ventilation, 6,000 inches would be divided by 300 with the result being 20 square inches of ventilation. In this example, the 20 inches allocated for ventilation should be split between intake vents at the soffit and exhaust vents at the highest point in the attic to facilitate circulation.

While many home improvements don’t return much on the investment, the same is not true for adding insulation and ventilation to an attic. With savings that can range from $400 to $600 per year, the initial investment for insulation and ventilation will likely be returned many times over in the years that follow.

  • Tweet
Tagged under: KTM Roofing, Roofing

What you can read next

Bat perched on Side of Home
Roofing Tips: How to Prevent a Bat Infestation
6 Benefits of Installing a New Roof
Need Roof Repairs? Tips on Choosing the Right Roofers

Contact Us

First Name(Required)
Last Name(Required)

Accreditations & Certifications

  • Brava Roof Tile Dealer KTM Roofing
  • GAF Timberline Solar Logo
  • GAF Certified Solar Installer Badge
North Atlanta Office
(404) 459-5954
5555 Glenridge Connector, Suite 200
Atlanta, Georgia 30342

BBB Accredited Atlanta Roofing Company

Credit Cards Accepted at KTM Roofing

South Atlanta Office
(678) 565-7663
2536 Highway 138 East
Stockbridge, Georgia 30281

 

GAF Roof for Troops Program

Best Pick Reports KTM Roofing
Proudly Serving
  • Atlanta
  • Decatur
  • Alpharetta
  • Marietta
  • Sandy Springs

Copyright © 2022 KTM Roofing | All rights reserved.

TOP